Pennsylvania voters give Sen. Robert Casey Jr. a 39 - 29 percent job approval rating; by 43 - 35
percent they favor him over an unnamed Republican for re-election in 2012 and by 40 - 33
percent they say he deserves another term, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

Voters split 45 - 45 percent on whether or not Congress should repeal the health care
overhaul passed last winter, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University survey
finds. The poll, except for Monday night's interviewing, was completed before a federal judge in
Virginia ruled that part of the law was unconstitutional.

By an overwhelming 69 - 24 percent, Pennsylvania voters approve of the tax deal that
President Barack Obama had negotiated with congressional Republican leaders.

President Obama has a split 44 - 43 percent approval rating in the Keystone State, and
would defeat an unnamed Republican in 2012 by 41 - 37 percent. Still, voters are split 44 - 45
percent on whether the president deserves a second term in the White House. This compares to a
negative 46 - 49 percent approval rating July 14, when Commonwealth voters said 48 - 42
percent Obama did not deserve re-election.

"Half of Pennsylvania voters say Sen. Robert Casey generally shares the same views as
President Barack Obama, while 16 percent say he does not. A third, 34 percent, are not sure,"
said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Depending
on how popular the president is in Pennsylvania in 2012, and how Sen. Casey conducts himself
during the next 23 months, that could be a plus or a minus for Casey's re-election prospects."

"Although there is a sense in the political community that Casey will be a strong bet for re-
election, his numbers are not overwhelming," Brown added.

At 44 percent, Democrats are the least sure that Casey shares Obama's views, while 52
percent of independent voters and 57 percent of Republicans think that he does. About a quarter
of voters, 24 percent, think Casey is too liberal, while 7 percent say he is too conservative and 43
percent see his views as about right.

"President Obama carried Pennsylvania by 55 - 44 percent in the 2008 election. Although
these new numbers are not exact comparisons, it's clear that he has lost some support since then,"
said Brown.

Among independent voters, the key voting bloc that was heavily Democratic in 2008 and
just as strongly Republican this November, voters are split 40 - 40 percent on whether Obama
deserves a second term.

On health care, 73 percent of Republicans, but only 42 percent of independents and 22
percent of Democrats, want it repealed.

"Health care remains a highly partisan issue," said Brown.

Although many Democrats in Congress have balked at the tax deal Obama negotiated
with the GOP, at least in Pennsylvania rank-in-file Democrats are solidly behind the president on
the issue, supporting the deal 66 - 29 percent. Republicans back it 72 - 21 percent while
independent voters support it 72 - 20 percent.

By 56 - 38 percent, Pennsylvania voters do not think the United States should be involved
in Afghanistan, a decline from July when by 48 - 45 percent voters thought the United States was
doing the right thing by being there.

From December 6 - 13, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,584 Pennsylvania voters, with
a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public
opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the
nation as a public service and for research.
For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or
follow us on Twitter.

1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as
President?

24. As you may know, President Obama reached agreement with Republican leaders
in Congress on a broad tax package that would extend the Bush-era income tax
cuts for two years, reduce worker payroll taxes for one year, and continue
unemployment benefits for an additional 13 months. Do you approve or disapprove
of this plan?